Rail joint and bab therefor



y 1935. s. LANGFORD Re. 19,638

BA EFQR a1 Filed 20, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Origin Feb. @z

July 9, 1935. s. LANGFORD 19,633

RAIL JOINTAND BAR THEREFOR Original Filed Feb. 20, 1925 5 shgets sheet 2 75 13 17 74 /4 1 L O O o! I 0 O O O s July 9, 1935. LANGFQRD Re. 19,638

RAIL JOINT AND BAR THEREFOR Original Filed Feb. 20, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 July 9, 1935. G. LANGFORD 19,638

RAIL JOINT'AND BAR THEREFOR Original Filed Feb. 20, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 3,7 37 a a F a 1 Mffiasses; Qirwan f2? 4 July 9, 1935. G. LANGFORD RAIL JOINT AND BAR THEREFOR Original Filed Feb. 20, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 66073262 La m g/arc! %Wm M 3 t Q'fr essasx wwa hfw Reissued July 9, 1935 PATENT OFFICE RAIL JOINT AND BAR THEREFOR George Langford, Joliet,

Ill., assignor to McKenna Process Company of Illinois, Joliet, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Original No. 1,562

Serial No. 10,537, tion for reissue 739,283

19 Claims.

My invention relates to rail joints.

In railroad tracks it is desirable to make the joints between the ends of rails of as nearly the same characteristics as the intermediate rail as is possible. This is because track laid upon ties,

as is the present practice, is an undulating structure falling and rising as the load of the wheels passes over the same. The joint should not be more rigid nor less rigid than the continuous rail. Practically this desideratum is not attainable. The strength of the joint at the out between rail ends is the strength of the bars. But away from the cut the strength of the joint is that of the rail plus the strength of the bars, where the bars extend. The result is the stiii'est part of the rail is immediately adjacent the weakest part.

The more the joint departs from the characteristic of the continuous rail, the less advantageous is the joint and the greater will be the wear upon the same.

But with the bars now in use the concentrated deflection results in concentrated wear to the extent of loosening the fit between the angular bearing surfaces of bar and rail end. The trapezoidal section of the bar is designed to wedge the bar between the lower face of the head and the top face of the flange to secure a. tight fit ini-- tially. The bar is designed to be drawn tight to 30 take up wear as it occurs, draw space being provided but it will be seen that as wear is concentrated at the center, taking up equally on the bolts will not restore the fit properly. Also the weakest part of the bar is rendered still weaker by wear.

Now according to the present invention I provide a bar which has greater depth at the center than at the ends and hence has two qualities or properties which are of great value. First the increased strength at the center of the bar provided by increased depth, reduces deflection and hence wear. a fit with the bearing surfaces of the rail ends even though they become worn.

The manner in which I am able to accomplish this will become apparent from the following detailed description and claims, suffice it to say here that I crown the angular bearing surfaces and flex the bar laterally to gain the greatest eflect from such crowning. That is to say, the crowning tends to make the central part fit but the ends to be loose to a variable extent depending upon the condition of the bearing surfaces of the rail. I take up the lack of fit by lateral flexing of the ends of the bar, which bar thus be- Next, the increased depth insures,

.423, dated November 17, 1925,

February 20, 1925. Applica- August 10, 1934. Serial No.

comes a spring, tending at all times to hold the central surfaces in close engagement.

In order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the mode of practicing the present invention, I shall describe in connection with the ac companying drawings a specific manner of practicing the same.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a cross section of a rail joint such as is now in common use;

Fig. 1 is a cross section of a simplified form of joint for purposes of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a side view with bolt heads cut away of the joint shown in Fig. 1

Figs. 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating the action of a wheel passing over the joint;

Fig. 5 is a side view similar to Fig. 2 of a worn joint;

Fig. 6 is a side view and Fig. '7 an end view of a renewed bar for curing the defect caused by wear and shown in Fig. 5;

Figs. 8 and 9 are diagrammatic illustrations in isometric projection of a bar which shows how the crowned bar may be made to fit the bearing surfaces of the rail;

Fig. 10 is a side view and Fig. 11 an end view of a bar having a crown along a greater part of the center than would correspond to the wear of the rails.

Fig. 12 is a side view and Fig. 13 an end view of the aforesaid bar after it is flexed to make it fit the bearing surfaces of the rail, 1. e., new rail;

Fig. 14 is a side view and Fig. 15 an end view and Fig. 16 a top plan view of a bar which is crowned and thickened at the center, the thickening metal being applied on the outside face of the bar;

Figs. 17, 18 and 19 are side, end, and top plan views of a, crowned bar showing the thickening applied to the inner side of the bar to produce in effect a bowing of the inner surface;

Figs. 20, 21, and 22 are similar views of a crowned bar of uniform thickness bowed out to give greater spring action; A

Fig. 23 is an end view of a joint embodying my invention showing how the bars are drawn in at the ends to make the crowned edges fit along the full length of the bar;

Fig. 24 is a sectional view of a joint embodying my invention and employing angle bars of conventional section; and

Figure 25 is an outer side view of a bar similar in its general construction to the bar of Figures 20 to 22, but having its central portion straight.

In Fig. 1, I have shown in end elevation a. joint 55 such as is commonly employed in tracks as now constructed, this joint comprising the angle bars l, l placed on each side of the rail at the point where the joint between adjacent ends is to be made. These bars have angularly disposed hearing surfaces 2, 2, bearing against the bottom surfaces 3, 3 of the head which is indicated at 4. The angle which these surfaces make with the hori zontal is generally of the order of twelve degrees, although this may be varied if desired. The bars I, i are cut away or relieved, as indicated imparting lateral strength to the bar, and providing at the same time angular bearing surfaces 6, 6, which co-operate with similar surfaces 1, I on the top of the flange of the rail 5. The flanges 5, 5 do not bear on the base flange surface I, 1 of the rail throughout their entire width, but only for a limited distance as, for example, between the points indicated at B and 9. The central part of the bars I, I is cut away or relieved, as indicated at 10, in order to save weight and metal. The bars are made of a size such that there is a clearance space, as indicated at I I, between the inner surfaces of the bars and the web of the rail 4.

The surfaces 2, 3 and B, i are subject to wear particularly at the central part of the bar where the actual cut in the rail is located, and the joint becomes loose due to such wear. The clearance H permits the bars I to be pressed inwardly to take up the same, as by tightening up the bolts H.

The wear which occurs at the central part of the bars is due primarily to the passing of wheels over the joints and depressing the end of one rail with respect to the end of the other rail, thereby bringing the bars under bending stresses and shear.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have illustrated the manner in which the wheel passing over the joint tends to subject the bar to punishment. As the wheel l5 moves across the joint it first encounters a part of the joint where the bar l6 makes the rail more rigid than the uncut rail because of the bracing action of the bar thereupon, then as the wheel approaches the cut 11 between rail ends, the bar I5 is subjected to shear and to bending stress which puts a maximum of pressure upon the surface adjacent the extreme ends of the rails. For example, in Fig. 3 the bottom bearing surface of the head is pressed down sharply upon the top of the bar l6 while the bar presses down in turn upon the top surface of the flange of the rail ill. The ends of the bar 16 bear against corresponding surfaces of the rail ends l3 and I4, but the leverage there is greater, so that the maximum punishment comes upon the central part of the bar 16. As the wheel l5 passes over the gap or cut H, the wheel tends to leave the one rail striking the raised endof the rail i3 and then depressing said end as is shown in Fig. 4.

Now I have shown in Figs. 3 and 4 a flat bar trapezoidal in section as constituting the joining bar for the ends of the rail. For the sake of illustration, I have shown such a joint in section in Fig. 1 and it will simplify the eiiplanation of the invention to consider the joint as being made by such fiat bars I6, as indicated in Fig. 1

The angle for the surfaces 2, 6 is of the order of twenty-four degrees, although this may be varied. The angle of the bearing surfaces of the bars is made the same as the angle of the bearing surfaces of the rails. Due to the wear, which has been mentioned above, the bearing surfaces become worn away as indicated at l8 and I! in Fig. 5.

I do not mean to indicate that rail joints are actually as loose and carelessly made as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, but intend these diagrams to show the tendencies involved. As a matter of fact, a. perfectly tight joint will cause wear at I8 and I9 from no other cause than the deflection of the bar. It is well known to those who are familiar with the subject that the passing of a. wheel over a rail causes it to flex and modern road beds are designed to permit the same. The load of the wheel is a concentrated load and as it shifts along it tends to move the point of depression along the rail, so that the rail actually moves downward and upward as the load passes onto and off of it. The result is that when the wheel passes over the joint, even if the joint is absolutely tight, so far as drawing up the bolts is concerned, and so far as the contact between surfaces is concerned, the bending of the bars to even a slight degree results in a rubbing action between the surfaces 2, 3, and B, I with the result that continued rubbing wears away the metal to the point where actual play occurs and then the pounding action which follows the existence of play augments the play and the joint rapidly deteriorates.

The expansion and contraction due to changes in temperature is another contributing factor to wear, but this is not necessarily concentrated on the central part of the bar.

My invention comprehends the fundamental conception of renewing a worn bar by pressing in the side faces and pushing out the end faces to a section which will fit the worn surfaces of the rail.

Such shape of bar is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 where a certain amount of crown or extrusion, as indicated at 2| and 22, is produced by thinning the central part of the bar, as indicated at the dotted lines 23 in Fig. 7. This bar, produced by thinning the central portion thereof, involves the fundamental concept above referred to, which may be applied equally well to either crowned or uncrowned bars, and I believe a bar formed in ,this manner to be broadly new whether such bar be crowned or uncrowned and, if crowned, whether it be crown at the head, or the flange, or both. The showing of this bar is largely diagrammatic and is intended to illustrate the principle of thinning of the central portion of the bar for either restoring or increasing the fishing height thereof. This principle is applicable to bars of various types, and the manner of its application to bars can be varied widely within the scope of my invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I find that the principle of this crowned or expanded bar permits the joint to be applied to unworn rail ends for securing a tight joint.

Assume, for example, that there is a dihedral angle, such as shown at 24 in Fig. 8, which is the dihedral angle formed between faces 3 and I on the rail and that this is to be engaged by a bar having greater depth at the center than at the end, such as is illustrated, for example, at 25, in Fig. 8. The central part of the bar 25 is tangent to the sides of the dihedral angle 24 and the ends of the bar are, so long' as the bar is straight, out of contact with the planes defining the dihedral angle.

The angle of the edges varies from the central part 26 to the ends 21 for the purposes of securing a uniform fit between said end faces 21 and the corresponding planes of the dihedral angle 24. The variation in the angle along the top and bottom of the bar may be secured by suitably grinding the dies in which the bars are formed.

I may leave the angle uniform along top and bottom in which case, when the bar is lowered, the area of contact at the central part of the bar will be a maximum, giving maximum strength at this point and then the area will taper off toward the ends with corresponding decrease in strength and rigidity of the joint at said ends.

Now assume that the bar 25, as shown in Fig.8, is forced into the position shown in Fig. 9, that is, the ends are drawn in until they fit between the sides of the dihedral angle 24. This means that the entire edge 26 and 21 at top and bottom fits into the space between the sides defining the dihedral angle and the upper edge and the lower edge of the bar 25 lie in the corresponding planes defining the dihedral angle.

Now, it can be seen that if a bar, whether of thinner section at the center or of uniform section throughout, be formed as shown in Fig. 6, such a bar may, by proper flexing thereof, be made to fit into the dihedral angle defined by the planes 3, I of the rail.

I have shown in Fig. 10 a bar of even and uniform thickness between its side faces, but being crowned or swelled as to its vertical dimension, in Figs. 10 and 11.

Such bar may now be employed either for forming a joint in connection with new rails, or it may be employed in repairing a joint of worn rails, since the central crowned portion may either be arched out, as indicated in Figs. 12 and 13 for forming a joint with new rails, or may remain straight when the same is used in conjunction with the repairing of worn rails. In other words, I now have produced a bar which is useful in connection either with worn rail ends or in connection with new rail ends for forming a joint.

The new bar is preferably rolled into long strips, is then cut to length, die formed to the proper formation, and then punched, or punched at the same time that it is die formed.

The production of such bar in the proper size, shape, and contour, will be readily comprehended by those skilled in the art.

Now it is not essential that the ends of the bar be made parallel, as indicated at in Fig. 10, and the central part only crowned for, as shown in Figs. 14 and 15, I may form the edge faces of the bar 3|, shown in Fig. 14, with uniform arch or crown upon each edge 32 from end to end. At the same time the central part of the bar may be thickened, as is indicated at 33 in Fig. 15, to increase the strength of the bar at the portion subjected to the greatest stress by bending in the ends. This secures the desirable results of increasing the strength of the joint at the portion which heretofore has been first subject to weakness.

Instead of adding the thickening metal to the outside of the bar, it may be added to the inside of the bar, as indicated at 35 in Figs. 18 and 19, the bar 3! otherwise being like that shown in Fig. 14, namely, evenly arched along its top and bot tom edges.

As clearly illustrated in Figs. 15, 16, 18, and 19, the bar thickened at its central portion, as above described, tapers in thickness from its central portion toward its ends. Theflshlng or bearing surfaces of such a bar, at both the head and the foot thereof, will necessarily taper in width from the central portion of the bar toward the ends thereof, as clearly shown in Figs. 16 and 19. This is inherent in a bar constructed in the manner illustrated and described. The tapering of the fishing surfaces, as above, is advantageous as counteracting, to a certain extent, the tendency of the central portion of the bar to wear more rapidly than the end portions, when the bar is applied in a joint.

If desired, the bar may be given a camber or bow to increase the tension upon the central part to secure a better follow-up action. as shown in Figs. 20, 21, and 22. In this case the bar 36 is of uniform thickness and it has its top and bottom edges crowned, as is apparent from the drawings, and in addition it is bowed with the central part extending inwardly and the ends 31 extending outwardly, so that when the end bolts are drawn up the central part of the bar is forced into contact with the surfaces 3 and 1 of the rail to produce a pressure and, at the same time, a take-up or spring action which will tend to keep the joint tight for a longer time and also will tend to present much greater strength where it is seated.

Fig. 23 shows such a bar as that indicated in Figs. 20 to 22, inclusive, applied to two adjacent rail ends to form a joint.

It will now be seen that the ends 31 are arched in until the surfaces 2 and 3 fit along the full length of the bar independently of the central bolt, the end bolts, which draw in the ends of the bars and which have not been illustrated for the sake of clearness, make a tight joint and the pressure which may be applied by means of the central bolts, merely increases the pressure between the surfaces 2, 3 and 6, 'l. The central bolts are not strictly necessary, since the spring action of the bars is sufficient to cause the wedge surfaces to engage each other. Such bolts however, are desirable for strengthening the joint against lateral displacement.

In Fig. 24 I have illustrated a rail joint in which the bars 40 are formed of the conventional angle section and are crowned along the center to secure a fit between the surfaces 2, 3 and 6, I along the center before the same occurs at the ends of the bar, so that the ends of the bar must be drawn in tight by the end bolts, the bar then serving as a spring.

As clearly illustrated in Figs. 23 and 24, the ends of the bar are disposed substantially within the vertical planes of head 4 of the rail, and the central part of the bar extends outwardly a short distance beyond such plane. The flanges of the wheels passing over the joint strike the central part of the bar, but the blow is a. glancing one, since the bar is inclined from each end outwardly to the central part thereof. I thus avoid subjecting the bar to pounding and injurious stresses resulting therefrom, such as occurs where the ends of the bar project outwardly beyond the rail head an appreciable distance and are struck direct blows by the flanges of the wheels. In this manner, I am enabled to use a bar of abnormal height at its central part. this bar having at its central part a draw space much greater than the corresponding draw space of bars of present construction, such as are in common use and are considered as standard. This bar, constructed and applied in the manner disclosed, assures a. highly efllcient joint and has a. much longer life than bars of standard type above referred to, now in common use.

In one example of an embodiment of my invention I provide a twenty-four inch bar in which the central part of the bar is substantially straight forfive inches along the center, and inch higher for the head wearing surface 2, and 3*, inch deeper on the flange wearing surface 6 for substantially the same distance, the quarter inch draw space I I which prevails at the center. being reduced to one-eighth inch draw space at the ends. Such a bar is shown, in outer side view, in Figure 25. In other words, the bar makes a bow or camber of one-eighth inch, as between the center and ends.

In practice I do not find it necessary to vary the angle of the edge faces nor to form the crown as a strictly accurate curve, such as I have illustrated in Fig. 8, but merely an approximation thereof. Also the central part is in practice somewhat flattened off instead of being sharply crowned or arched, as this conforms more nearly to the requirements of new bars, namely, that the central part be substantially straight and the ends only bowed in. The theoretical perfect curve shown in Fig. 8 and the perfect bend shown in Fig. 9 are naturally modified by the bolt holes and the concentrated stresses of the bolts at such points.

The metal which may be added at the center of the bar to form the crown or crowns according to the present invention is a valuable addition with regard to strength as such metal is placed at maximum distance from the neutral axis.

The angle bars which embody the above structure are preferably made of medium carbon open hearth steel, heat treated and quenched in oil, so as to secure a great strength and toughness and to give a highly resilient metal which acts not only with excellent strength but to give a suitable spring action.

Since the major part of the wear occurs at the center of the bar and a minimum at the ends, it can be seen that with the variable amount of take-up or clearance provided according to my invention, the maximum take-up is at the place where the maximum is necessary and the minimum is provided similarly where a minimum of take-up is necessary. The result is a. highly advantageous structure which is useful, not only in securing greater strength and rigidity at the center in new rail joints, in connection with the joining of new rail ends, but which also has the valuable property of being capable of making a satisfactory joint in connection with the ends of rails which have previously been joined and worn so that a new bar of standard section would no longer produce a perfect joint.

I do not intend to be limited to the details shown and described.

I claim:

1. A bar for joining adjacent ends of railroad rails comprising a wedge bar having angularly disposed bearing surfaces at its top and bottom edges, said bar being thinner and of greater height at its center than at its ends, said angularly disposed bearing surfaces being brought into the planes of the bearing surfaces of the railroad rails by deflection of the ends inwardly a distance less than the draw space of the bar with the rail.

2. A bar for joining adjacent ends of railroad rails, comprising a. wedge bar having angular-1y disposed bearing surfaces at its top and bottom edges disposed for contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends, said bar being thinner at its center portion than at its end portions.

3. A bar for joining adjacent ends of railroad rails, comprising a wedge bar having angularly disposed bearing surfaces at its top and bottom edges disposed for contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends, said bar being thinner and of greater height at its center portion than at its end portions.

4. In a rail joint, a crowned joint bar, the head and flange fishing surfaces of the central portion of the bar being straight and uniformly spaced from each other at each edge, respectively, and such surfaces being in contact with the rail fishing surfaces throughout the length of the bar, there being draw space for the full length of the bar.

5. A bar for joining adjacent ends of railroad rails, said bar being crowned and comprising a head portion and a foot portion provided with fishing surfaces disposed and adapted for both center and end contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends, the head and foot portion fishing surfaces of the central portion of the bar being straight and uniformly spaced from each other at each edge, respectively.

6. A reformed bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion and having a crowned head bearing surface, and the web portion being thinner at the center than at the ends.

7. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, and having a crowned foot portion bearing surface, and the web portion being thinner at the center than at the ends.

8. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, and having head and foot portion bearing surfaces, the web portion being thinner and higher at the center than at the ends.

9. A renewed bar for rail joints, comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, the web being thinner at the central longitudinal part thereof and the inside of the web being concaved.

10. A renewed bar for rail joints, comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, and having angular bearing surfaces restored to be cooperable with new rails and having concavities in the central longitudinal portions of the web and foot portion from which metal has been removed by lateral displacement.

11. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, and having head and foot portion bearing surfaces and the web portion being thinner at the center than at the ends.

12. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, and having head and foot portion bearing surfaces, said web portion having its outer surface straight throughout its length and its inner surface concave lengthwise of the bar.

13. A bar for rail joints, said bar comprising a head portion, a web portion, and a foot portion, said web portion being thinner at the center than at the ends.

14. A rail joint bar having head and foot bearing surfaces, the central portion of the bar being thinner horizontally than the portions of the bar adjacent said central portion.

15. A rail joint bar, said bar being higher at its center than at its ends and having head and foot bearing surfaces adapted for both center and end contact with the corresponding surfaces of the rail ends when the bar is applied in a rail joint, one of said surfaces of the bar being of less area of contact per unit of length at its end portions than at its center portion.

16. A rail joint for railroad rails comprising in combination with adjacent ends of railroad rails of standard cross section, a joining bar having angular bearing surfaces at top and bottom to co-operate with the bearing surfaces of the rail ends, said bar being crowned at the central portion of its top on an arc extending lengthwise thereof and of greater depth at its central part than at its ends, the end portions of the bar beyond said crowned central part being substantially straight with the upper edges of each end portion substantially parallel with the lower edges of the bar, and bolts through said bar and the rail ends for drawing the ends of the bar toward the webs of the rail ends until the bearing surfaces at the ends of the bar are in wedging contact with the bearing surfaces of the rails.

17. In a rail joint including the rail ends, a Joining bar having angular bearing surfaces at top and bottom to co-operate with the bearing surfaces of the rail ends, said bar being crowned at the central portion of its top and of greater depth at its central part than at its ends, the end portions of the bar beyond said crowned central part being substantially straight with the upper edges of each end portion substantially parallel with the lower edges of the bar, and bolts through said bar and the rail ends for drawing the ends of the bar toward the webs of the rails until the bearing surfaces at the ends of the bar are in wedging contact with the bearing surfaces of the rails.

18. A bar for joining adjacent ends of railroad rails, said bar having angular bearing surfaces at top and bottom to co-operate with the bearing surfaces of the rail ends, said bar being crowned at the central portion of its top on an are extending lengthwise thereof and of greater depth at its central part than at its ends, the end portions of the bar beyond said crowned central part being substantially straight and of substantially uniform fishing height.

19. A bar for joining adjacent ends of railroad rails, said bar having angular bearing surfaces at top and bottom to co-operate with the bearing surfaces of the rail ends, said bar being crowned at the central portion of its top, and the crown being of greater depth at its center than at its ends, the end portions of the bar beyond said crowned central part being substantially straight and of substantially uniform fishing height.

GEORGE LANGFORD.

DISCLAIMER Re. 19,638.-- George Langford, Joliet, Ill. RAIL JorNT AND BAR THEREFOR. Pagent dated July 9, 1935. Disclaimer filed May 5, 1937, by the assignee, lllcKenna Process Company of Illinois; the patentee concurring. Hereby enters this disclaimer to'each of claims 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ll, 12, 13,

[Ofimlal Gazette May 25, 1.937.] 

